Finders, the international probate genealogy firm, today warned of the need to preserve consumer choice when employing the services of professional probate genealogists. This should be founded upon the ability to receive a bespoke service which best suits their needs, Finders said today.

Finders, the international probate genealogy firm, today warned of the need to preserve consumer choice when employing the services of professional probate genealogists. This should be founded upon the ability to receive a bespoke service which best suits their needs, Finders said today.

“Finders specializes in helping clients – lawyers, trustees, executors or administrators and personal representatives – through the often formidable task of identifying and tracing heirs and locating missing or unknown beneficiaries.

“There is a certain art to the work undertaken by professional probate genealogists framed by training, experience and expertise. Finders works with Administrators of estates to provide a bespoke service, which includes reaching a fee agreement best suited to the needs of the consumer.”

Daniel Curran added:

“Choice of fee option is vital to a healthy and competitive market. A good firm of probate genealogists will be keen to find the best fit for the consumer, and will be able to discuss a variety of fee options and costing methods.

“Contingency fee arrangements are currently the most popular fee option, as the genealogist’s fees are not charged to the estate, whether or not a missing beneficiary is located. Other fee options include the ‘budget’ fee, the fixed fee, the estate/trust agreement and the hourly rate.

“Contingency fee arrangements may not always be the most appropriate, or the most cost-effective, method of charging in every circumstance. However, they provide customers with a wider choice of fee option, and can carry less financial risk than some other options for the estate, and for beneficiaries. They remain an important option for consumers, and are permitted under the law and encouraged under the Jackson Report.

“If contingency fee agreements were not available, there would be cases where a search for a missing heir is simply not undertaken, and others where the estate of known heirs is used up in fees paid for searching for missing heirs. This would restrict consumer choice and ultimately the consumer would suffer.”

The overwhelming majority of the probate genealogy market offers contingency fees as one of a range of payment options, reflecting consumer demand for a choice of affordable options.

Daniel Curran said:

“We believe that probate genealogist should allow consumers to be in the driving seat when it comes to fee options. Irresponsible scare stories in the media claiming that contingency fees are not allowed are fundamentally anti-choice and anti-consumer and should be rejected as such.”